Ch 8

The rain had started in the early hours of the morning and now near noon it was still teeming down on Tracy Island. Standing at the floor to ceiling windows of his home, Jeff Tracy watched the water stream down the reinforced glass. The heavy rain shrouded the whole of Tracy Island, and reflected the pain Jeff felt in his heart for his lost son. He remembered when Gordon had his accident and had nearly died; the rain had been just as relentless. Jeff drew out a heavy sigh and forced himself away from the window. Behind him at the round conference table sat Scott, Virgil, Alan, and Brains. Their quiet conversation ceased when Jeff took his seat amongst them.

"What do we have so far, Scott?"

Taking his cue, Scott pressed a remote control in the direction of the wall opposite the table. A giant screen slid down from the ceiling. A picture of Gordon's beach hut was shown.

"Alan and I did a thorough inspection of Gordon's hut. There was nothing in the hut to indicate he was involved in any altercation."

"So you're saying he wasn't forcibly taken from the hut but perhaps left it willingly?" Virgil queried.

Scott nodded. "We know from questioning people on the island that he went to the Resort's bar the night he disappeared." A picture of a bar flashed onto the screen. "He was seen drinking in the company of three people, two men and a woman."

"Do we have any visuals of the three?" Jeff asked.

"Not from the resort but we were given a reliable description of the trio from the bar staff, and we have a possible match on the CCTV from the island's airport. Three people, two men and a woman, left the morning Alan and I arrived."

A black and white picture of two men and a woman appeared on the screen. All were dark haired, wore sunglasses, and carried hand held luggage.

"I'm guessing these three didn't bid Gordon a cheery farewell after a few drinks?"

"Your guess is correct, Virgil. The staff said the two men carried a very drunk Gordon out of the bar."

Jeff frowned at Scott's words. His sons enjoyed drinking socially but he knew they were extremely disciplined in the amount of alcohol they consumed in case they were called out to an emergency. It would be totally out of character for Gordon to allow himself to be carried out drunk.

Scott's words echoed his father's thoughts. "The likelihood of Gordon being dead drunk was pretty small so I asked the bar staff how many drinks he had consumed."

"A...and?" Brains prompted.

"Luckily the bar wasn't crowded that night, and the same guy served the group the whole time they were there. He remembers Gordon drinking three, probably four beers at the most. The beer was not strong, and it was consumed over two to three hours. Certainly he could have been tipsy but the staff said Gordon was completely out of it."

"Perhaps he had a few beers before he got to the bar," Virgil put in half heartedly, knowing Gordon wasn't one to overindulge.

Alan spoke, "Yeah, we asked the bar attendant the same question but he said the only place you could buy drinks on the island was at the resort's bar, and Gordon hadn't ordered or bought any earlier. In fact, the barman said Gordon didn't buy his drinks, it was that man who bought them," Alan pointed to the screen, "The tubby one."

"He was drugged," Jeff said with finality.

Scott nodded, his voice was soft. "We believe so, Father."

Jeff stood from his chair and returned to the window. Taking deep breaths to control the emotions swirling inside, he asked, "Where did these people take him?"

"We think they took him to their hotel room. The resort is a combination of beach huts and luxury hotel rooms, and they had a room in a fairly secluded area. We were given permission to look in the trio's room but have so far found nothing. IR agents are still combing their way through it."

Jeff turned from the window and returned to his seat. "So he was drugged by these people, taken to their room, they presumably removed the chip and...?" Jeff looked to his sons.

"And we know the three left without Gordon the next morning," Scott replied. "But we believe someone else took him off the island."

"Are you sure he's no longer on the island? The ones who took him could have cut the chip out, stolen all his money, and dumped him on the beach or worse, in the ocean." The anguish was noticeable in Virgil's voice. An intense young man, unlike his father and elder brother Scott, Virgil sometimes found it hard to conceal his emotions.

"None of Gordon's belongings were touched, Virgil," Scott was firm in reply. "Going by the information I received from John on all the island's outbound flights, I believe Gordon was taken off the island by a private plane only hours after he was carried from the bar." Scott pressed the remote control; a grainy black and white video of two men carrying a stretcher into a Lear jet was played.

Scott froze the video and enlarged the shot of the stretcher. "As you can see the footage is too blurry to make out any distinguishing features. John found that the plane had only arrived on the island on the day of Gordon's disappearance. A party of businessmen were on board. They later asked for an emergency exit after the airport curfew. Their reason was that one of their party had become seriously ill and they wished to take him to a larger medical facility. The thing is..." Scott looked to the four other men at the table. "Three men arrived on the plane and four left."

Lacing his fingers together, Jeff's brow furrowed. "The Island's Immigration didn't question this?"

Alan snorted in disgust. "A mother ship of three-headed aliens could land on the island, and they wouldn't question it."

"Let's just say, the islanders are very laid back in their approach," Scott added a tad more tactfully.

"Sounds l...like...G...Gordon's...sort of holiday...d...destination," Brains said with a small smile.

"And a very convenient place to conduct a well-orchestrated kidnapping," Jeff added. "I am surmising he was taken for who he was and what amount I can pay for his return."

"We've had no ransom demands, and this is the second day after Gordon's disappearance. Could they possibly know Gordon's role in IR?" Virgil questioned.

Scott shrugged. "There are very few who could link Gordon to IR outside of this room. I'm inclined to agree with Dad, the abductors made the connection to Dad's wealth, and they want money."

Scott switched the visual back to the shot of the two men and woman at the airport. "These three are our strongest lead. Through searching various international databases, John was able to get detailed information on them. The tubbier of the two men is Maurice Kegworth; he is a cousin to the other two, who are brother and sister, Piers and Mia Willoughby. All three are dual French, US citizens but mainly reside in the US. Only Mia has paid employment, she's a photographer for a surf magazine."

"Do you think they are the main operators?" Jeff asked.

"Doubt it; to get information on Gordon, and the funds to spirit him away from the island, it would take a lot of money and brain power, the back info I have on these guys indicate a lack in both 

departments. I'm sure they were the bait, in particular Mia, she was said to be by Gordon's side constantly at the bar," Scott replied.

Alan couldn't help a smile. "Gordon, always a sucker for brunettes."

"The Lear jet? Anything?" Jeff shot the question to Scott.

"John discovered it's owned by an importer, exporter business but the details are very messy, leads go everywhere; someone is very adept at covering their tracks. As I said, the only strong connection to Gordon's disappearance so far is the trio from the bar."

"Right!" Jeff stood. "All emergency operations are suspended until we locate Gordon and bring him home. I want you three boys to go to Paris and track down the people from the bar. Brains, you and I with John's help will try and unravel the mystery of the jet. Keep in touch, boys, and take care."

"FAB." The three Tracy sons nodded at their father before leaving to prepare for their journey to France. Brains laid a hand on Jeff's shoulder in support. "H...have you to...told your

mo...mother?" He asked quietly.

Jeff slowly shook his head. "I don't want to worry her, she was really looking forward to her stay in the US with Tin-Tin, and hopefully, Gordon will be here to greet her when she and Tin-Tin return."

Brains dipped his head sympathetically. "I u...understand...J...Mr Tracy."

Later, Jeff listened at his desk for the roar of the engines as his sons took off for Europe. The rain had cleared a little, and the sun was struggling to make an appearance. Jeff closed his eyes. "God speed boys, bring Gordon home."